Philips debuts solar-powered LED road , area lighting

TO improve people's lives through meaningful innovation in the country, Philips Electronics recently unveiled efficient and cost effective solar powered road lighting solution into the Nigerian market.The Communication Manager, Nick Kelso, during his speech said, "the innovation has the potential to transform urban and rural life in areas of the world which do not have access to the electricity grid or where the grid is unreliable, making them safer and more productive. It will also help municipal authorities create more livable urban environments by applying new, future-proof LED lighting solutions to enhance city and rural life."
Kelso stressed that the Solar Gen2 offers customers a highly energy-efficient LED solution, which is superior to any conventional lighting and allows for a lamp post spacing of up to 50 meters, much wider than with other solutions, while at the same time complying with stringent EU road lighting standards (ME3). By charging street lighting during the day, Solar Gen2 can also supplement the capacity of the conventional electricity grid.In addition to the Solar Gen2 Philips has also developed an entry level range of good value cost effective Solar powered Street Lighting with low medium and high lumen packages ranging from 1500lm to 6000lm.
He maintained that both the Solar Gen2 and the entry level range solutions are of modular construction and can easily be upgraded by replacing key components such as LED light modules and drivers. In this way any investment is future-proofed. In addition, Solar Gen2 includes theft prevention.He said that the key to the breakthrough lies in the combination of new High Brightness LEDs with unique patented optics and an intelligent controller, which lies at the heart of the solution. This ensures that the maximum amount of power is transferred from the solar panels to the batteries (30 per cent more efficient than traditional charge controllers.)In his words, it also ensures that the charging and discharging of the battery happens in a smart way so as to maximise battery life and it can dim the light levels when required based on a self learning intelligence and a history log.A further benefit of the high energy efficiency is that the cost and size of the batteries, and solar panels can be reduced significantly, by as much as 50 per cent compared to standard solutions being offered in the market today.